Crane.



- 12H. DOUGLAS.

CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1908.

Patented July 20. 1909.

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P H. DOUGLAS.

CRANE.

A'PPLIUATI'ON FILED JULY 2, 1908.

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Patented July 20. 1909.

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P. H. DOUGLAS.

CRANE.

' APPLIUATION FILED JULY 2, 190B.

Patented July 20. 1909.

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P. H. DOUGLAS.

CRANE.

APPLICATION nun JULY 2, 1908.

Patented July 20, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL H. DOUGLAS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WELLMAN-SEAVER-MORGAN COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CRANE.

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL H. DOUGLAS, a, citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cranes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawmgs.

My invention relates to cranes and more particularly embraces cranes used in hoisting and carrying ladles, etc.

The object of the invention is to provide a crane in which it will be impossible to over turn the hoisting trolley should a hoisting cable break, and also to make it impossible for the ladle or other object carried thereby to drop, due to such a breaking of a hoisting cable.

My invention comprises the elements which will be hereinafter completely set forth, and generally speaking, comprises the elements and combinations set forth in the claims.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a crane constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the crane; Fig. 3 is a plan View of the main hoisting trolley Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the auxiliary trolley; Fig. 5 is a perspective showing the arrangement of the cables as used in connection with the hoisting mechanism upon the crane.

In Fig. 1 is shown a general arrangement of a traveling crane which is adapted to extend across the room or building in which it is to be used, the opposite ends of the crane being mounted upon tracks 1 which are in an elevated position above the floor, and are supported in any suitable manner. The mechanism for propelling the crane bridge along the track comprises a motor 2 which is geared to shafts 3 and 4 that extend longitudinally of the bridge of the crane and are connected at their extreme ends by means of gearing, represented generally at 5 and 6, to the wheels 7 and 8 at the opposite ends of the crane. A main hoisting trolley 9 is mounted upon the upper ortion of the bridge and is adapted to trave the entire length of the said bridge, being actuated by a motor 10, which is mounted upon the carriage of the said trolley. This trolley is provided with suitable Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 2, 1908.

Patented July 20, 1909.

Serial No. 441,576.

withdepending hooks 12,the said hooks being adapted to engage the trunnions upon a ladle. It will be quite obvious that the hoisting hooks may be used to lift and transport any desired load, and I therefore do not confine myself only tothe use of my crane for hoisting and tilting ladles.

The auxiliary trolley, represented generally at 13, is adapted to travel between the two main girders of the bridge and in a plane below the main trolley, so that these trolleys may pass each other in their travel backward and forward in the longitudinal'direction of the crane. The auxiliary trolley is also provided with hoisting mechanism and is adapted to assist the main trolley in the handling of loads, or it may be used to en gage the eye upon the lower part of a ladle to ti the same when it may be desired. A suita le motor 14 is provided upon this auxiliary trolley to propel it backward and for ward along its tracks.

The cage 15 is located at one end of the trolley and at one side of the path of travel of the hoisting tackle upon both the main and auxiliary trolleys. The cage is adapted to carry the attendant who is operating the crane and within this cage will be mounted the necessary controllers and switches for operating the various motors which are used in actuating the difierent parts of the crane.

The frame of the crane comprises two longitudinal beams 16 and 17 which are spaced apart. These beams are connected at their opposite ends to end beams 18, one of which is shown in Fig. 2. It is evident that these beams may assume any structural shape that may be desired, but I prefer to construct the said beams as box girders. The end beams 18 are mounted upon trucks. 19 and 20, two of such trucks being secured to the beams 18 at each end of the same; These trucks are each mounted upon two wheels which engage with the tracks 1, in the manner shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Upon the upper ends of the girders 16 and 17 are secured tracks 21, one of said tracks being secured upon each girder and extending throughout the entire length of the said girders. Upon these tracks travels the main hoisting trolley 9.

Upon'the inner portions of the girders and resting upon the lower flange thereof are secured brackets 22 upon whlch are mounted entire length of the girders 16 and 17.

ed to travel.

Heretofore it has been the custom to mount themoter and the gearing for thepropulsion of-the crane at .one end of {the main. girders forming part of the .crane. This has 1 resulted in limiting the travel of both the main and auxiliary trolleys and-in prolribiting them from traveling the complete length .because the hoisting mechanism which hangs downwardly from the said trolleys willen- .counter the motor and propelling mechanism for the crane, and therefore the tackle cannot .be carried "to a point so near the end of :the bridge as is desirable. It isa purpose of inventionto mount the motorqand the propelling gearing and cage outside of and away from the girderswhich form :thebridge of 1 the crane, thus allowing the trolleys to travel substantially the entirelength of the girders vupon which theyare 111011Ht6(l,-&I1(l smallowing the hoisting mechanism to approach nearer the extreme limits of the crane, thus giving the cranea wide range-0f use. lnrcan rying out this purpose, I provide a. gird-c1124, which is mounted :ou-tside of-the girder 16 and issecuredat its oppositeends tol-theend girders T18. Secured to this ggirder isafootwalk .25. This foot-walkextends the entire length of the bridge. Mounted qupon suitable bracketsqsecured tothe floor andgirder 24 is the operating-gearing .5 and 6-.which is used to propel the wheels of .the trucksjalong the bridgeto drive it along its track. The longitudinalshafts 3 and 4 are alsosecured to thisgirder 24 and the motor ;2 -is mounted at the central portion of the crane and securedto girder 24. Th e hoisting mechanism from the main trolley will depend'between the girders '24 and .16, .and also outside the girder 17. Thecage :15 is likewise secured to and --su pported fromuthe girder 24. It is thus apparent that the entire zoperating mechanism for the bridge aswwellas-theoperators-cage is removed rfrom the path of travel of the hoisting tackle, so ithat the trolleys -may be run to-the ends=of the-track up on which they are 2 mounted and the hoisting tackle brought to a point =.ver.y: nearqthe ends of thebridge.

Ifdt-be desired-todriveallithe wheelsupon the bridge,.a; girder similar to. girder 2 4 may be mounted upon the-oppositmsideof the crane andsecured in. thesarne mannerrto the end,girders 118 as is thegirder 2,4. It will then be possible ;to mount'u on the; girder just mentioned driving .mec anism sand a motor similar in all respects to the mechanism just described.

The main hoisting trolley comprises a frame having side girders'27 and 28 and end girders 29 and 30. This frame is supported upon cross girders 31 and 32 extending transversely of the frame upon which are mounted wheels 33 which are adapted to engage'the tracks '21 mounted upon the tops of the girders 16 and 17 A motor 10 is mounted upon the girder 27 :and is geared with a shaft 34 which in turn is connected with the wheels so as todr-iue the same. along the track when the motor is operated.

Drums 35-and .36 are mounted in suitable .journals'whjich-are secured upon thegirders of the tracks upon whichtheyaremounted,

27 and .28,-.the said drums being located near oppositeends of the girder. Upon the ends of the drums are gears 37 and 38 which mesh respectively ;wi=thgears :39 and 40. -lhese gears are each mounted at one end of shatts 41 and 42, respectively, thesaid shafts being mounted inbearings-which are carried by the girders 327'. and 28. At gtllfi ends of the shafts 41-and 42 opposite-tothe gears 39 and 40 are secured gears 43 .and- 44. ilhe gear-44 is in mesh with the gear 45 which is mountedupon a shaft 146,-,WhiQh shaft bymeans of gears 47 and 48 is in operative connection with the motor shaft-49. Thegear 43 is .in mesh-with agear fiOwhich is secured upon astub shaft 51, which gear is-in mesh=with thegear 45. This provides for the rotation of g'thergear 43 in a direction opposite to the rotationof the gear 44, so that the drums .35 and;36 will be rotated in op osite directions simultaneously.

Sheavepu'leys52, 53, 54 and .55 are securedby means of brackets to -.the girders :29 and 30, 31 and :32, two of. said brackets being represented at 5.6 and 57 respectively, in Fig. 2. The brackets are so secured that the sheaves will-be each mounted at an .angle ,to the axisofits adjacentdrum. Two of the sheaves are mounted in proximity .to each drum at the outside thereofand-theplane of the 58116-2116 is inclined with respect to the plane of theaxis ofjthedrum. The motor is positionediapproximately at the. center of-the frameandis supported upon suitable cross girders which are secured to the sidemembars 2 7.and .28.

.U on each drum arewound two cables Whic yaresecured ,at points .58 to the said drums. Thefree end of the. cable '59 extends downwardly outside of the girder :16 and around asheave 6.0; thence up around the sheave -=55-;and around a second sheave 61; thence aroundasheave 6,2, acrossthe trolley to.,a; sheave -63; ithence around a sheave 64,

, around sheave ;53,.shea ve 65 and-aroundithe drum"36:t,o-the point 158 where-it issecuredto the' said drum. The cablez66 issecured inall respects @simila-r .toathe :cable 59, =Withcthe exceptionsthat the :sheaves 534 and 52iare' engaged in. place of;the.sheaves 55 and.53.

naled upon a pin 72, which set of sheaves arein all respects similar to the sheaves and 61, and are in engagement with the cable 66. At the lower end of the block 67 is a pin 71 upon which one end of the ladle beam is pivotal y secured, and from this beam, in a line below the block 67, depends a ladle hook 12.

It will be understood that there is a sec ond tackle block 67 in all respects similar to the block 67 which is mounted so as to de-" pend outside of the girder 17, and is supplied with sheaves which are in engagement with the cables 59 and 66, in a manner similar to the engagement of the cables with the sheaves in the block 67. The block 67' is likewise provided with a pin at its lower portion, similar to the pin 71, upon which is piv otally mounted one end of the ladle beam 11, and from which end depends a ladle hook 12.

It will be apparent from the above description that each cable isfastened at its opposite ends to the drums 35 and 36, and that between such end portions the cables are in engagement with a series of sheaves. It will also be apparent that upon the driv ing of the drums by the motor, the said drums will be driven in opposite directions, so that the cables will be wound upon said drums, or unwound from said drums, according to the direction of rotation impartedby the motor. As the cables are wound upon the drums, the blocks 67 and 67' will be elevated and with the blocks the ladle beam 11. The opposite will be true when the cable is unwound from the drums. Vfere a single cable used to raise and lower each end of the ladle beam and the cable connected with one end of the beam should break, the excessive weight which would be brought to bear upon the other cable would be sufficient to cause the trolley to tip in the direction of the greatest weight, and so be pulled from the top of the bridge. I have obviated such a happening by using the two independent cables working simultaneously, one end of each ca ble being fastened to the drums at each end of the trolley, so that in the event of the breaking of one cable, the weight upon the res ective drums will be the same as when bot cables are in commission, with the difference that one cable will be sustaining the entire weight of the ladle or other object which is being operated upon. Inthe event of the breakage of one of the cables, the ladle may be lowered to the floor of the building and the broken cable repaired. It will be impossible for the trolley to be tipped from its position upon the bridge because the weight will be sustained by both of the drums and even if both cables should break, the ladle or other object sustained by the hooks would be dropped but the trolley would not be tipped because the weight would be released from both drums simultaneously. However, the likelihood of both cables breaking simultaneously is quite remote.

The arrangement of the cables is shown in perspective in Fig. 5, and the direction of travel of the cables is indicated by the arrows. The sheaves with which the cables are in engagement during their travel are indicated diagrammatically.

Wherever I use the term cable in the specification and claims, it is intended to include ropes, chains, wire hawsers, or any other element having the function of the cables herein shown.

It will be noted from the construction which I have described above that several important results are secured. In the first instance, due to the mounting of the motor and operating gear for the crane outside of the path of travel of the hoisting mechanism which is mounted upon the main trolley and outside the path of travel of the auxiliary trolley, the said trolleys are capable of operating nearer the ends of the crane than in the ordinary construction where the motor and operating gear for such crane are located in the paths of travel. This construction also allows a foot-walk to be supported by the outside of the auxiliary girder, so that the attendant may easily gain access to any part of the crane. Secondly, by the particular reeving of the ropes with relation to the hoisting drums upon the main hoisting trolley, I secure the result that at all times the weight upon the two drums is equalized, thus insuring against the tipping of the trolley and also against the dropping of the ladle by the trolley. Again, due to the fact that the hoisting tackle upon the -main trolley overhangs the exterior portions of the main girders of the crane, a free path between the girders is left along which the auxiliary trolley may move without hindrance, and the main trolley and auxiliary trolley may pass each other in their travel Without interfer ence. Furthermore, the construction of the crane is economical in that no separate supports are required for the rails upon which the auxiliary trolley travels, the main girders of the crane carrying this weight.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a crane, the combination, with main girders, of a trolley mounted upon said girders, an auxiliary trolley adapted to travel on tracks intermediate of the main girders, an

auxiliary girder outside of the main girders and connected to the end girders of the crane, and gearing supported from said girder by means of which the crane is propel led.

2. In a crane, the combination of "a bridge comprising main and end girders, a trolley adapted to travel along said main girders, an auxiliary girder mounted outside the main girders and connected to the end girders, a motor supported by said auxiliary girder, and propelling mechanism for the crane supported by the said auxiliary girder, said propelling mechanism being operated by the motor, whereby the crane may be moved.

3. Ina crane, the combination, with main girders, of a main trolley adapted to travel along said girders, an auxiliary trolley adapted to travel on tracks intermediate of the main girders, hoisting mechanism mountedupon each of said trolleys, an auxiliary girder mounted outside the main girders, and propelling mechanism and an operators cage supported from said auxiliary girder whereby said trolleys may travel substantially the entire length of the main girders.

4. In a crane, the combination, with a bridge comprising main girders and end girders, of a trolley adapted to travel upon the upper portions of said main girders, an auxiliary girderlocated outside of the main girders and secured at'its opposite ends to the end girders u on the crane, operating mechanism for said crane mounted upon the said auxiliary girder, and hoisting mechanisinmounted upon the trolley, said hoisting mechanism depending between the main and auxiliary girders. v

5. In a crane,the combination, with main girders and end girders, of a trolley adapted to travel along said-main girders, an auxiliary girder mounted outside the main girders and connected to the end girders, a footwalk supported by said auxiliary girder and extending throughout the length thereof, propelling mechanism for the said crane supported by the auxiliary girder, and a motor supported by the auxiliary girder, said motor being adapted to actuate the propelling mechanism whereby the crane may be moved.

6. In a hoisting crane, the combination, with a frame, of a trolley adapted to travel along said frame, hoisting-drums mounted at the opposite ends of said trolley, and a plurality of cables, an end of each cable being secured to each drum, the said cables depending outside the frame and adapted to support the load to be raised at a point intermediate the ends thereof.

7. In a hoisting crane, the combination, with a frame comprisin main girders, of a trolley adapted to trave along said girders, hoisting drums mounted at opposite 'ends of the trolley, the axes of'said-dru'ms being parallel with the girders, and a plurality of cables, an end of each cable being secured to each drum, said cables overhanging the frame and supportingthe load to be raised at points intermediate of the ends thereof.

8. A trolley having drums located at opposite ends thereof, sheaves mounted upon the said trolley, and a plurality of independent'cables, each cable having an end secured to each of the drums, said cables engaging the sheaves upon the trolley at points intermediate of the ends of the cables.

9. In a crane, the combination of main girders, a trolley adapted to travel along the upper portions of said main girders, a hoisting drum at opposite ends of said trolley, and a plurality of cables, one end of each of said cables being secured to one of said drums and theother end being secured to the other ofs'aid drums, said cables engaging the load at points intermediate of the ends thereof, whereby an equal proportion of the load is supported by each of the drums upon the trolley.

10. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising main girders, a trolley mounted on said girders and adapted to travel along the same, hoisting'mechanism carried by said trolley, an auxiliary girder located outside of one of the main girders, an operators cage, and propelling mechanism for the crane, said cage and propelling mechanism being supported by said auxiliary girder.

1 1. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising main girders, a trolley mounted on said girders and adapted to travel along the same, "hoisting drums mounted upon said trolley, hoisting tackles connected with said drums and depending therefrom outside of the main girders, an operators cage, and propelling mechanism for said crane, said cage and propelling mechanism being supported fromthe bridge outside the path of travel of the adjacent hoisting tackle depending from the trolley.

12. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising main and end girders, a trolley adapted to travel along said main girders, an auxiliary girder mounted outside of the main girders and supported by said end girders, propelling mechanism supported bysaid auxiliary girder, and hoisting mech ,anism mounted upon the said trolley and de pending betweena main girder and said auxiliary girder.

13. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridgecomprising main girders, a trolley mounted on said girders and having at each end thereof a hoisting drum the axis whereof is substantially parallel with a girder, and a cable'having its ends secured to said drums and supporting the load to be raised at points intermediate of the ends thereof.

14. In a traveling crane, the combination,

with a trolley, of hoistin drums mounted at opposite ends of said tro ley, and a plurality of cables each having its opposite ends con nected to said drums and supporting the load to be raised at points intermediate of the ends thereof.

15. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising main girders, a trolley mounted on said girders, said trolley having at each end thereof a hoistin drum, each of said drums having its axis substantially parallel with a girder and each of said drums overhanging the outer portion of its subjacent girder, and a pair of cables each having its opposite ends secured to both of said drums and each supporting the load to be raised at points intermediate of the ends thereof and outside of a girder. 16. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising a pair of main girders, a trolley mounted on said girders, a hoisting drum mounted at each end of said trolley and having its axis substantially parallel with a main girder, a ladle beam, sheaves at each end of said beam, and a pair of cables each having its opposite ends connected with both of said drums and having its intermediate portion rove around the sheaves at each end of said beam.

17. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising a pair of main girders and an auxiliary girder located outside of and s aced from one of said main girders, prope ling mechanism for said bridge carried by said auxiliary girder, a trolley mounted on said main girders and having at each end thereof a hoisting drum, each of said drums having its axis substantially parallel with the main girder, and a pair of cables each having its opposite ends secured to both of said drums and each supporting the load to be raised at points intermediate the ends thereof, each. of said cables having aloadcarrying portion extending between the auxiliary girder and the adjacent main girder.

18. In a traveling crane, the combination of a bridge comprising main girders, each having a track, a trolley mounted on said tracks, said trolley having at each end thereof a hoisting drum, each of said drums having its axis substantially parallel with a girder, and a pair of cables each having its opposite ends secured to both of said drums and each supporting the load to be raised at points intermediate the ends thereof and outside of a track.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. I PAUL H. DOUGLAS.

itnesses J. B. HULL, A. J. HUDSON. 

